My grandmother, on my mother's side of the family, was an amazing woman. She was very creative, leaning towards quilting, crocheting, knitting, and sewing. I have a few of her quilts, and they will always be treasured. Since I was the only grandchild who demonstrated any artistic abilities, her talents made Grandma even more special to me. I've written a children's book dedicated to her, Pick Me Cried Arilla, and I made a second book with The Bible from A to Z, memory verses that she taught generations of children at church. Yes, she was quite a woman -- and she married quite a man.
A message on Facebook reminded me of my grandpa, and I just had to write about him. He and Grandma were travelers before it was really very common. When I was a kid, I never even imagined leaving Ohio. But, my grandparents had a camper and they drove that vehicle from Florida to Alaska and everywhere in between. Nobody else I knew did anything like that at the time. My one souvenir from his travels was a can of Tropical Air from the Florida Keys. Yep, there is a tourist who will buy almost anything. I still have that souvenir.
As for himself, Grandpa collected keychains from his travels. They were proudly displayed in the family kitchen on a pegboard. It documented a lot of travels. When my grandparents passed away, that collection was divided up among several cousins, aunts, and uncles. My mother got her share of the keychains and they are now on a pegboard in my home. I wish I had more of Grandpa's stash, but I have added more of these souvenirs to the collection. Grandpa traveled around the USA, but my keychains are from North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. I guess you can say I caught his travel bug.
Grandpa worked two full-time jobs. He was a farmer. I know that is grueling hard work, but he also worked at Marion Power Shovel. I never thought to ask about that job. I once heard an interesting story about the place. Employees were upset about something and signed a petition that was presented to management. When the man at the top received the petition, he had one question. Was my grandfather's name on the petition? He was a respected and honored man and his opinion counted. I never heard if his name was on that paper, but the most important thing to me was my grandfather's reputation.
The Facebook message that I received was from a friend who was reading a book about the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Lunar Landing. In it, my friend saw that machinery to move the rockets was made in Marion, Ohio. How did my friend from college days remember that I was from Marion, Ohio? I guess it works the same for him because I remember he was from a tourist attraction called Nashville, Indiana. Anyway, my friend wanted to know if I knew this historical tidbit.
Nope, not a clue.
But, I remembered my grandfather worked at Marion Power Shovel. So, I called my 92 year old auntie and asked if she knew anything about this. Was Grandpa involved with the space race? He most certainly was! Both my grandpa and one of my uncles worked on two NASA crawlers (transport equipment with gyros that kept the spacecraft level and still while moving them). They also helped produce large shovels and earth-moving equipment. And because of this involvement, my grandparents took that camper to Florida to watch at least one of the launchings. I don't know how I never knew about any of this before. (And, a little Marion Power Shovel trivia in addition to NASA . . . Their shovels were also used in the excavation and construction of the Panama Canal and the Hoover Dam. Who knew?)
I have a few very special memories about my grandfather. One time, when I was very young, Grandpa knew that I was too little to know about dentures. He grabbed his upper row of teeth and pulled them down about an inch. I was just completely shocked. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't pull my teeth down like he did. I don't know when I actually realized what happened that day.
Grandpa could say the alphabet backwards faster than anyone else could say it forwards. And, every kid knows their alphabet! The key for him was to learn clusters of letters as words. One of his words was RQPO. Of course, I had to learn to say the alphabet backwards too. I don't really rely on Grandpa's clusters of words, but I can still say them backwards faster than anyone else I know can say them forwards.
My grandpa is so very fondly remembered by all of his grandchildren. He was such a great grandfather. Whenever there was a reason, Grandpa would celebrate the occasion with floats made with Vernor's Ginger Ale and Neapolitan Ice Cream. Every time I see either of those products, I think of this man. When we were older, he once said that we were old enough to make it for ourselves. That argument was quickly and forever squashed when my cousin Kathy said, "But, it always tastes better when you make it." End of debate. Grandpa went to the kitchen to make us our floats.
Grandpa has been gone for over fifty years. But, whenever there is a family reunion, one of the cousins always has a supply of Vernor's Ginger Ale and some Neapolitan Ice Cream. It's a tradition that none of us will ever forget. Grandpa left such a legacy. We should all be so lucky.